Kilpatrick, Ferguson, given 24-hour deadline to argue why they shouldn't be in jail

Mar. 26, 2013

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick exits the US Federal Courthouse in downtown Detroit on Monday March 11, 2013 after the jury handed down a verdict in his public corruption trial. / Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press

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Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his contractor friend, Bobby Ferguson, have 24 hours to respond to the government's latest arguments that the two should remain locked up pending formal sentencing in the public corruption case, according to a court filing today.

The order to respond comes one day after the federal government disclosed what it considers more damaging information about Ferguson: a phony driver's license.

Federal prosecutors disclosed the information in court documents Monday in an effort to keep Ferguson locked up until he is formally sentenced, arguing that Ferguson could flee considering the hefty sentence he is facing -- up to 20 years.

Ferguson and Kilpatrick have been detained in a federal prison since getting convicted March 11 on 34 counts combined.

Both men have asked to be released on bond pending sentencing, but the government says neither man can be trusted not to flee.

"Even more alarming is the fact that the government recently discovered that in 1999, (Ferguson) fraudulently obtained a Michigan driver's license in the name of Antonio Cortez-Julian Talley," prosecutors wrote in court documents. "The fact that defendant lied to the Michigan Secretary of State to obtain a fictitious license is evidence of his deception."

According to the court filing, the phony license expired in 2002 and listed an address associated with one of Ferguson's entities: Four Children's Enterprises. It's not clear why Ferguson applied for and obtained the license, "but what is obvious is that it cannot have been for any lawful purpose," prosecutors wrote.

Plus, the government argued, a criminal history check on the fake driver's license showed a traffic ticket issued in Alabama, where Ferguson's mother lives and "where (Ferguson) is known to have multiple bank accounts."

Ferguson and Kilpatrick both have relatives willing to offer their homes as collateral to ensure they won't flee.

But the government has urged U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds to reject those offers, arguing that court rules "explicitly disfavor" the posting of property as collateral in criminal cases.

Ferguson, meanwhile, has another problem: finding a lawyer to represent him in his upcoming bid-rigging trial. The government is retrying the case, which ended in a mistrial last June.